


Truth is, I don't know

by ThatOneBirb



Series: Truth is I don't know [1]
Category: Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneBirb/pseuds/ThatOneBirb
Summary: Madison tries to comfort Artemis after what happened to Paul but somehow the opposite happens.
Relationships: Madison Reynolds/Artemis Schue-Horyn
Series: Truth is I don't know [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087886
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	Truth is, I don't know

**Author's Note:**

> No I'm not over with Wayward Guide and this ship.

Artemis watched as her brother slept in their room from her bed. She had gotten the call several hours ago, when they found Paul and Prism laying on the ground, blood everywhere. She had practically bolted to Dr. Henry’s office, which was coincidentally right beside The Dead Canary. Madison was there to help them move her brother to their room and the sheriff spoke close to nothing throughout, clearly shaken by the death of another townsfolk. They hadn’t had a chance to interact afterwards, until the town meeting where Artemis basically pushed Madison into running for town council.

She had gotten back from the town hall a few hours ago. Now, sitting on a chair beside Paul, she could not shake off the tiny voice in her head that had been constantly nagging at her; Telling her how much she had messed up. With Paul, Madison, and even the town, when she ‘nominated’ Madison for the council. She wondered if it was the right choice to even come to Connor Creek.

A soft knock got her attention. Madison was standing at the door, a plate of food in her hands.

"I thought you might want something to eat. It's… it's past dinner time and well… well I thought…"

"Thank you sheriff but I'm not hungry." Her voice was sharp and Artemis winced, she could not help but feel even worse. Madison was the nicest person she had ever met and right now, she was being an awful person at the moment.

"I'm sorry-"

"I'm sorry-"

Soft chuckles filled the room. Madison gestured for Artemis to speak first as Artemis did the same for Madison. The soft chuckles became louder and Madison spoke first.

"I'm sorry. I'll just leave the food here. I should go."

The mood changed nearly instantly and frowns were on both faces, though they couldn’t see it. Madison took a step in to place the plate on the dresser before turning to leave, and Artemis watched guiltily before speaking.

"Madison, wait."

Madison turned back, about to speak when Artemis continued.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Um… do you want to come in?"

A small, growing smile appeared on Madison's face as she grabbed the plate and moved towards Artemis' bed. With a nod from Artemis, Madison took a seat, holding the plate out to Artemis.

"I asked Quinn to make something light since I didn't know if you could stomach anything and he said he was going to make an actual meal, and then he came out with this thing right here and-"

"Madison. Thank you." Artemis placed a hand on Madison's shoulder, effectively stopping the sheriff from rambling.

Artemis took the plate, unsure of what was on it. She could identify some rice and vegetables and that was about it. She could feel Madison watching her and in another moment of impulse, she spoke again.

"Have you eaten? I mean, um… do you want to share this?"

Madison jumped slightly, her face a little flustered, "well um… no I haven't actually. I was preparing for all that town council stuff and waiting for Quinn to finish cooking and um… yea. If you don't mind I um… I'd love to."

Artemis could distinctively feel herself feeling a little flustered too, albeit it was accompanied by a twinge of guilt for pushing Madison into a corner earlier. Who knew Madison had such an effect on her? Paul would laugh if he found out that Artemis Schue-Horyn could get flustered.

The pair moved to the tiny table in the room. They sat silently side by side as they ate, Artemis using the spoon while Madison took the fork. A comfortable silence filled the room, only the sound of the occasional cutlery scraping the plate breaking it. Once they finished, both women stared at the empty plate, not knowing how to break the silence that had surrounded them.

Artemis was the first to look up. There were dozens of thoughts racing through her mind at that moment. All of them having to do with the sheriff in front of her. Twisting her fingers under the table, she muttered.

"How do you do it?"

Madison, who wasn't expecting Artemis to speak, looked up sharply.

"What?"

"Put on that smile even after that has happened. I mean look at the last few days. We’ve been here for not even three days and people have either gotten hurt or hell, died. I almost lost my brother and I feel awful about it knowing it’s my fault and you’re here trying to make me feel better even after everything that has happened and to Ryan-”

Artemis stopped, immediately regretting her words. She did not mean to bring up Madison’s brother. She didn’t dare to look Madison in the eye. The sheriff was quiet, and after a moment, she looked up and Artemis could see Madison’s eyes tearing up.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Madison wiped a stray tear off her face.

"No, no, it’s fine. Truth is, I don't know. I don’t know what to do, or what I’m doing. All I know is, people here need a sheriff to keep the town safe, and as their sheriff, I've got to show that I can do that. I already couldn’t protect my brother, I-”

Madison’s words got softer as she spoke, her words no louder than a whisper at the end of it. Her eyes were filled with tears and Artemis watched as another tear fell down her cheek. Her hand found its way to Madison’s and she started to rub slow circles on it. Paul had always done it to her as children, when she was having a really bad day, and it always made her feel better.

“We argued a lot, ya know?,” said Madison after a few moments, “especially during this election season. I told him it was useless to run and that he should just stick to following the rules here in Connor Creek. We even fought the night before-.”

Tears were streaming down the sheriff’s face now and to her own surprise, Artemis found herself wiping the tears off Madison’s face. That seemed to work since Madison was no longer crying. Instead, she was now frozen in front of Artemis. 

“It’s not your fault Madison. You know that,” Artemis whispered.

Her words seemed to pull Madison back as her cheeks quickly turned a light shade of red and she touched the hand on her cheek gently. This time, Artemis was the one who was frozen. They stayed that way, looking at each other in silence. Artemis didn’t know why she was feeling this way when she was with Madison. It was strange… but nice.

Finally, it was Madison that broke the silence, pulling her own hand away from Artemis. Artemis quickly placed her hand down too when she realised where it was.

“I’m so sorry Artemis. I came here to cheer you up and yet you’re here cheering me up instead. I must be a mighty bad friend right now.”

“Friend?” Artemis felt her cheeks flush a little. Madison was having an effect on her that she never thought she could experience. So much for impartial journalism.

“Well yea, I consider you a friend. Oh gosh,” Madison frowned, “did I mis-read the situation going on here? I’m so sorry Artemis, I just thought-”

Artemis’ hand found its way into Madison’s.

“I consider you a friend too.”

Silence enveloped the pair once more as they tried to make sense of their thoughts. Artemis looked at their joined hands. She had been rubbing circles on Madison’s hand and found it soothing. Madison’s hand was surprisingly soft considering how she had mentioned she did a lot of work around the town.

A few more minutes passed before Madison spoke again.

“Can I hug you, Artemis?”

Artemis nodded, allowing Madison to wrap her arms around her. It was nice, warm. Madison’s hug was like nothing she had ever experienced. They stayed that way, neither wanting to let go. Neither having experienced such warmth in a long time. Eventually, they did let go and it was with a warm smile that Madison bid Artemis goodbye. 

Truth was, she didn’t know what would happen in the next few days. The more they dug, the more questions they uncovered. The one thing she did know, however, was that in Madison’s arms, she was safe, and everything could wait for these few short moments.

**Author's Note:**

> I might make this into a short series if I can think of how to continue this


End file.
